Senate Bill S6491

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6491
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 3, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public  health  law,  in  relation  to  communicable
   disease contact tracing
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The title heading of title 8 of article 21  of  the  public
 health  law,  as added by chapter 377 of the laws of 2020, is amended to
 read as follows:
           [NOVEL CORONAVIRUS, COVID-19] COMMUNICABLE DISEASES;
                              CONTACT TRACING
   § 2. Section 2180 of the public health law, as amended by  chapter  62
 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   §  2180.  Definitions. As used in this title the following terms shall
 have the following meanings:
   1. "Contact tracing" means [COVID-19] COMMUNICABLE DISEASE case inves-
 tigation and identification of case individuals and contact individuals.
   2. (a) "Contact tracer" and "contact tracing entity" means an individ-
 ual or entity employed by or under contract  with  the  state,  a  local
 government,  a  state or local governmental entity, or an agent thereof,
 to conduct contact  tracing,  engage  in  contact  tracing,  or  receive
 contact tracing information.
   (b)  A  contact  tracer  or contact tracing entity shall not include a
 service provider that is a non-governmental entity that is  employed  by
 or  under  contract  with  a contact tracing entity or an agent thereof,
 that receives, transmits, maintains, stores, or  hosts  contact  tracing
 information  at  the  direction  of  a contact tracer or contact tracing
 entity so long as such service provider's access to the  information  is
 exclusively  limited  to  the  maintenance  of  the  information and the
 contact tracer or contact tracing entity has the ability to  delete  and
 manage  contact  tracing  information  as provided by this chapter, law,

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10875-01-1

 S. 6491                             2
 
 rules or regulations. A service provider under this paragraph  shall  be
 referred  to  in this title as a "designated non-governmental entity." A
 service provider that does not meet the requirements of  this  paragraph
 and  would  otherwise  be  subject  to paragraph (a) of this subdivision
 shall be a contact tracing entity.
   3. "Contact tracing information" means any information  that  includes
 or can reveal the identity of any case individual or contact individual,
 and  any  [COVID-19-related] COMMUNICABLE DISEASE-RELATED information or
 test results, received or collected for the purpose or in the course  of
 contact tracing.
   4.  "Contact  individual" means an individual who has or may have come
 in contact with a case individual or who has or may have been exposed to
 and possibly infected with [COVID-19] A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE.
   5. "Case individual" means an individual with a confirmed or  probable
 diagnosis of [COVID-19] A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE.
   6.  ["COVID-19"  means  infection  with  or  the disease caused by the
 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
   7.] "Immigration authority" means any entity,  officer,  employee,  or
 government employee or agent thereof charged with or engaged in enforce-
 ment  of  the  federal  Immigration  and  Nationality Act, including the
 United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Depart-
 ment  of  Homeland  Security,  or  United  States  Customs  and   Border
 Protection,  or  agent, contractor or employee thereof, or any successor
 legislation or entity.
   [8.] 7. "De-identified" means, in relation to contact tracing informa-
 tion, that the information cannot identify or be made to identify or  be
 associated  with  a particular individual, directly or indirectly and is
 subject to technical safeguards and policies and procedures that prevent
 re-identification, whether  intentionally  or  unintentionally,  of  any
 individual.
   [9.] 8. "Law enforcement agent or entity" means any governmental enti-
 ty  or public servant, or agent, contractor or employee thereof, author-
 ized to investigate, prosecute, or make an  arrest  for  a  criminal  or
 civil  offense  (except  a  designated civil offense), or engaged in any
 such activity, but shall not mean the department,  the  commissioner,  a
 health  district, a county department of health, a county health commis-
 sioner, a local board of health, a local health officer, the  department
 of health and mental hygiene of the city of New York, or the commission-
 er  of  the  department  of health and mental hygiene of the city of New
 York. As used in this subdivision, "designated civil  offense"  means  a
 civil offense or offenses designated by the commissioner (or the commis-
 sioner  of  the New York city department of health and mental hygiene in
 the case of contact tracing information collected by or under  authority
 of  the New York city department of health and mental hygiene or the New
 York city health and hospitals corporation).
   [10.] 9. "Support" means resources or services provided to an individ-
 ual to enable such individual to safely quarantine or isolate, including
 grocery, meal or pharmacy delivery, laundry  services,  child  or  elder
 care,  pet walking, assistance with telephone, internet, or other commu-
 nication services or devices, health and mental health  services,  legal
 services,  provision  of  appropriate  living  space for individuals who
 cannot isolate or quarantine at home, and income replacement.  "Support"
 may also include support provided to  other  individuals  for  whom  the
 individual commonly provides those resources or services.
   [11.] 10. "Permitted purpose" means:

 S. 6491                             3
 
   (a) disclosure to appropriate health care providers or their personnel
 for the purpose of the clinical diagnosis, care or treatment of the case
 individual  or contact individual who is the subject of the information,
 where an emergency exists and the individual is  in  immediate  need  of
 medical attention and an attempt to secure consent would result in delay
 of  treatment  which would increase the risk to the individual's life or
 health;
   (b) facilitating a legally-authorized  public  health-related  action,
 where  and  only to the extent necessary to protect the public health in
 relation to [COVID-19] A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE; or
   (c) use or disclosure of contact tracing information to pursue a legal
 action in relation to a violation of this title; provided  that  disclo-
 sure  shall  be  subject  to in camera review and approval by the court,
 and, if the use is initiated by a party other than the  case  individual
 or contact individual who is the subject of the contact tracing informa-
 tion,  the  information  must  be  highly  material and relevant for the
 purpose.
   § 3. The section heading and subdivision 5  of  section  2181  of  the
 public  health  law,  as  amended by chapter 62 of the laws of 2021, are
 amended to read as follows:
   § 2181. [COVID-19] COMMUNICABLE DISEASE contact tracing; confidential-
 ity.
   5. No law enforcement agent or entity or immigration  authority  shall
 be a contact tracer or contact tracing entity or engage in contact trac-
 ing.  This subdivision does not bar an individual who is associated with
 a  law enforcement entity or immigration authority from acting only as a
 case individual or contact individual. This subdivision does not prevent
 a law enforcement agent or entity from  assisting  in  a  permitted  use
 under  paragraph  (b)  of subdivision [eleven] TEN of section twenty-one
 hundred eighty of this title.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.